NASCAR has removed part of its tire barriers at Watkins Glen International after a chaotic Truck Series race raised concerns about restart policing and driver visibility before the final corner.
During Friday’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Watkins Glen, restart rules and two late penalties changed the race. Ross Chastain and Gio Ruggiero were penalized for jumping the restart zone, which was changed from last year and moved closer to the final corner to spread out the field before Turn 1. The new layout confused drivers about the exact starting point.
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Fox Sports’ Bob Pockrass shared the update about the NASCAR crew appearing to remove some of the tire barriers on X, writing:
“Saw this on the track walk … NASCAR appears to be removing some of the tire barrier that juts out by the start of the restart zone. Would expect that is to help with visibility of the zone.”
NASCAR introduced barriers to control track limits and stop drivers from abusing runoff areas. At Turn 1, the sanctioning body placed four separate tire bundles in the runoff zone, and another large tire pack lined the exit of the Carousel. That section narrowed from about 20 feet off the track to just 5 feet near the re-entry point.
Chastain in the No. 45 Truck was the first to be penalized. He had led 19 laps and was in control of the race with about ten laps left. But he accelerated before reaching the restart zone and was sent to the back of the field for the restart violation.
A few laps later, Gio Ruggiero faced the same issue on another restart. He was close to the restart line but got a strong push from the truck behind him, forcing him to speed up earlier than planned. Meanwhile, Kaden Honeycutt took the lead on the final restart and pulled away for his first win.
NASCAR Cup Series qualifying session to continue after a cancelled O’Reilly session on Saturday
After the qualifying for the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series was canceled at Watkins Glen on Saturday morning, the Cup Series qualifying session is expected to run for 35 minutes if the track is dry.
Bob Pockrass reported the same on X, writing:
“As long as track is dry, a 35-minute, all cars, session for qualifying on slicks.”
The teams got one set of wet tires and one set of slicks for the Cup Series’ 50-minute group practice session.
The single-session Cup qualifying is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on Prime. The last Cup race at Watkins Glen saw Shane van Gisbergen take a dominant win, more than 11 seconds ahead of second place.
Edited by R. Elahi
